New York State of Mind
by Raggazzed12
Summary: Dally's thinking about his past. Johnny and Ponyboy notice his subdued spirit, and don't understand until the truth comes out. Dally tells the story of his life in New York...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Author's Note: I am writing this because of ...well, I felt like it. Dally Winston isn't really on my favorites list all the time, but I like him enough to write a story off of his past. I would like to mention that Johnny plays an important role here as well, being Dally's comforting part of the story to some extent, and just being like he is, as Johnny. The title is not even mine, it's a song by Billy Joel, and I don't own any of the Outsiders, even though I really wish I owned Johnny. This takes place before everything in the book, or otherwise these two would have to be ghosts. So, here it is, chapter one!

Dallas Winston walked down to the street corner where he often hung out at waiting for someone to turn up, like Tim Shepard or someone else. He didn't like to be with people. Today, he was mostly thinking about New York. The past haunted Dally a lot. It wasn't his favorite thing to think about. He didn't like it at all, actually. It was memories of another messed-up place where people like himself roamed the streets looking for murder and action.

There wasn't much he could do about it. He had seen too many things, done too many things for that part of his past to disappear.

Johnny suddenly appeared with Pony following behind. They looked at him expectantly.

"What did you want us here for, Dally?" asked Pony.

"Jus' for company. I dunno, let's go find action or something. I'm bored today, how 'bout you?" he asked them.

"Well, normally, I ain't bored because I got enough to think about with school and everything." replied Pony, with a sarcastic tone.

"Man, there ain't enough that's looking up for me anymore for me to have any fun. It's all boredom and pain, Dally." said Johnny in a small voice. Dally put his arm around Johnny's shoulders.

"Don't you worry, you ain't gonna get hurt when I'm 'round." he said. The 15 year old boy only nodded his dark haired head. Ponyboy was looking around.

"Say, why don't we go to Dairy Queens and get us some food?" he suggested. Dally nodded.

"Why not? I can cook up some action there, bust someone's tires, I'm sure of it." Dally said. Johnny just looked at Pony as if to say "here we go".

But the both of them noticed how subdued Dally seemed. He wasn't acting like Dallas Winston, he was acting more like Ponyboy, actually, far off and dreamy with his head in the clouds. Johnny started to look at Ponyboy as if for answers, but Pony could only look back at him with the same confused look.

"Well, I mean, we don't hafta do this Dally. It ain't our choice, you make it the decision." said Johnny, uncertainly.

"Nah, let's go." said Dally, and they trudged off down the street.

They made it to Dairy Queens and ordered food. Dally was paying, as he clarified it, and so the other two didn't interfere with his decision on that part. But when Pony said that he'd cover the cost of the drinks, Dally allowed him only because he didn't have a lot of money on him. They sat down on a table, and began to eat. It wasn't until the Mustang pulled up that all three of them knew that they were in trouble.

"Uh oh, here we go." said Dally, under his breath. Johnny looked slightly scared, not too scared, but still scared, and Pony looked stubborn.

The Socs got out of the Mustang and made their way towards the three. Dally was already wondering if there would be a murder or something. He was really thinking about his past now. And as he did so, there was no doubt in his mind that these five Socs were looking for trouble.

"Hey greasers, what are ya doing?" asked one, smirking.

"Shut up, or we'll make you do something you ain't goin' for." said Dally, standing up.

"Yeah, we'll follow your commands, general." said another.

"Just stop it or we will fight you." said Pony.

"The little greaser's gonna fight us. Oh no!" replied the first one.

"Shut up." said Johnny in a commanding voice. They looked at him.

"Hey, you're the one I found sleeping in the park! You gonna run?" answered the first one.

"No, I ain't gonna run." said Johnny.

Dally remembered what had happened that time. Some of Socs found Johnny in the park and had managed to nearly beat him up to the point of cuts and scrapes, but they had only caused bruises. Dally had been on the scene when he'd heard Johnny yelling "Get off!" and he had run to the scene. There was Johnny, fighting as hard as he could, punching and cursing, but it was 5 against 1, so he couldn't beat them. And as these were the same 5, Dally, bared his teeth and gave them a glare so hard that one backed up.

"You ain't gonna touch none of us. Don't come closer, or, or I'll stick you with the knife in my pocket!" threatened Dally. Johnny looked at him in disbelief, as did Pony, and Dally knew they were thinking the same thing,_"What is he talking about?"_. Dally was thinking New York style, and had done it the old way.

He had never killed someone in New York. He just beat them up, and threatened them. He had a knife then, but now he didn't carry one, so the threat he had just made was pointless. But they were scared looking.

"Don't you threaten us with a knife! You'll pay!" yelled one, as they backed up, to their car.

Dally glared at him and turned back to Johnny and Pony. Both looked slightly scared.

"You have a knife?" asked Johnny.

"Nah, I ain't got no knife. I jus' threatened them like..." he trailed off in reply.

"Like what, man?" said Johnny.

"Nothing, jus', jus' nothing. Don't ask." answered Dally.

"But you threatened them. Don't tell me that you didn't. I heard you as well as Johnny here did." said Pony.

"Let me tell you something. When I lived in New York, I got all the power of threatening."

"Then tell us about New York. We want to know. Jus' tell us." replied Pony.

"Oh, fine, a little bit." sighed Dally, lighting a cigarette. "Now, when I lived there..."

Author's Note: That was chapter one, thank you for reading. I really need reviews, next chapter will be where Dally picks up with his story, it's gonna be interesting, and Pony and Johnny will ask questions. By the way, it'll be in italics. So please, please, please, review, review, review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Author's Note: It seems that by popular demand, I need to keep updating. I guess you don't find many Dally stories out there that are basically theories about his past. These are all made up, but judging off of S.E. Hinton's book, it seems that it was pretty rough for him. So I continue, and thank the two reviewers for reviewing and hope to have more reviews from you and more. So onto the chapter, because I know what it feels like to have to wait for someone's story to be updated.

"_I had lived in New York for a few years by this time. I was 13 years old. My father really didn't care where I was, he was, at that time, a businessman who knew about the economy and everything else. I didn't, but that didn't stop me from being on the streets. It was about 6 at night, and I wasn't going home for a while since my friends wanted me to come with them on a raid. _

'_We should've known that the store clerk would keep a gun. I was too stupid to understand then. But we still went into that store._

'_It was a grocery store. One of my friends, James, was busy looking at chocolates, acting innocent, and the other, Dennis, was busy bouncing a tennis ball up and down and acting just as innocent as James. I was told to go up to the clerk and start talking to him as the others would pull out their knives and come up from behind me. They wanted money. I wanted to help. We all thought it would work._

'_The clerk, though, seemed to sense something."'_ and here Dally stopped for a breather.

"So you were plannin' to rob a store?" asked Johnny, almost breathlessly.

"Yeah kid, an' if ya don't shut up, I ain't gonna ever tell you what happened." replied Dally. "Now on with it.

"_The clerk was, as I said, suspicious and he knew we were up to no good. As soon as my friends came with the knives, he raised a gun and told us that it was loaded. My friends sneered but lowered their weapons. Then James did the most stupidest thing I have ever seen anyone do._

'_He started to take money. Before me or Dennis could do anything, the clerk shot him in the side. I could only stare as blood began to come out of my friend. There was nothing now. The clerk looked horrified, but then threatened us and told us to leave if we didn't want to be caught on the scene. Me and Dennis, we ran for our lives. _

'_James died that night. I don't know why he was so desperate or needy. There was only the problem of being in court, but my father got me out of that one, saying I had nothing to do with the shooting and was innocent. I had been "'forced into it by the two others"' and "'should not be accused for he was doing what he would do in self defense"'. In the end, the clerk was found guilty for killing a kid and Dennis and I never saw each other again."'_

"Was that it? All of your history?" asked Pony.

"No stupid. I ain't gonna...jus' wait a minute or two, I ain't gotten to the good part yet. There weren't any real murders as I got older, I ain't wantin' to see one again. But anyways, I might as well get on with it." said Dally, glaring at Pony. "Now see here, this next one comes before those years. I was only 10 back then.

"_I was hiding in a back-street alley on 71__st__ street. It wasn't nice, I was cramped up and moaning, but I was alone. My father had said that I had to be at home by 7, and here it was, almost 6:30. I would never make it. _

'_I had been in the park, and then realized how late it was. I didn't understand the curfew my father set for me, the rest of the city stayed up all night, why couldn't I, but I didn't argue with it ever. I couldn't because he'd just tell me that it was for my mother and that I needed to behave or she wouldn't be proud of me. I guess back then, he was a good dad._

'_So as I hid in the corner, I didn't care about much else than going home. I knew that the city at night was dangerous. There were all sorts of people out there, and I couldn't mix with them. I wasn't allowed to._

'_So when I heard the shouting coming closer and closer, I didn't know what to think. It sounded like a friend of mine and his mother. Why were they arguing at this time of night? I didn't know. Louis had always had a hard time with his folks, and he was only my age._

'_Suddenly, I heard him yell and a shot that sounded like a gun. I saw it all from the alley. A man in a business suit had a gun in his hand. He was a murderer, not a man who I could trust. And on the ground lay Louis's mother, and Louis was crouching over her. He seemed to be crying. The man laughed. I stepped out of the alleyway, and stared at the man. I had a knife in my back pocket._

'_He looked at me, and raised the gun to face Louis, who looked terrified. I pulled out the knife, and made him drop the gun. He didn't want to, and when he did, he pulled out a knife as well. Louis looked scared. I faced him._

"'_Why was he trailing you?'" I asked Louis._

"'_He...there, he's been threatening my mother..."' was the reply. I faced the man again, almost fearlessly._

"'_Let go of the weapon."' I told him. But instead, he picked up his gun, and raised it to his own head. I didn't watch what happened next, the gunshot told me enough. _

'_There the man lay, bleeding and dead, and Louis was crying over his dead mother's body. I stood there, terrified, shocked, and wondering what would happen. The man had been a murderer, and then he'd killed himself. What was wrong with this horrible world? Now Louis was alone._

'_I took him home that night after the police showed up. They charged the man, and told us to go to a safe place until the court would have a hearing. I don't know what happened to Louis after that day during the court hearing. All I could think about was how cruel the world was to have done this to my friend and I."'_ Dally stopped, breathing in and out heavily. He sounded angry. Johnny touched his shoulder.

"Don't worry now, you're here. There ain't nothin' that you'll have to go through like that here, man, I know it." he said quietly.

"Thanks Johnny, but that murder rep was one of many. There was another one. It was worse, I think, it ain't pretty, that's for sure." was Dally's reply. "I was 13, again, when this one happened...

Author's Note: Alright, just wait for the next chapter now you will have to. That sounded like Yoda, sorry. Anyway, there's chapter two, if it's too short, I apologize, but don't worry the next one will come soon. It will start off like this chapter did, while Dally's talking about his past. Thank you and please review!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Author's Note: So, here I am again, and people have probably been waiting for this update, so, here it is. I guess it's really interesting to hear about Dally's past and all, so with that, here we go!

"_I had been stealing from a store at the time. I didn't really think about it, my father didn't care all that much. It isn't something he would've done, but I was desperate, and getting more so each day. I had nearly been kicked out of my own home a day before that, and now he was suffering from money loss as well. _

'_So, I stole. I had done so on many occasions before that, but not quite so obviously. I should've remembered that the alarm system would work, and when it went off, I nearly jumped 10 feet in the air._

'_I ran. Ran like heck, and all the way out of that store to a square far away from that area. I didn't know what to think. I had a switchblade in my back pocket, and I knew I might have to use it, but not like I did that night. Unfortunately, someone else, unknown to me, decided to rob another store that night as well, and we met up at the same place. He was a mean one, I could tell._

'_He had that glint in his eye that clearly said, 'give me money or give me death', and I wasn't going to give him either. He was also the murderer type, he had a gun, and almost raised it to my head. I quickly told him that I had just robbed a store like he had and had only found a few things. He put the gun down and then turned in a full circle, looking for the cops which I knew would soon appear. _

'_The first person to appear, though, was a man who looked like he had known the man I was standing next to. And the man next to me growled. I backed up. It was too late at night, 10:00, and I didn't want to get killed here. They both started to advance on each other. I didn't know which one would get killed, but I knew that someone would be. _

'_It didn't take long for the first man who I'd met up with to shoot the other man in his leg. But that didn't stop the civilian man from trying to shoot the robber. He managed to get him in his head. I saw it. It hit his head and the man was down. The other man, the civilian, or who I thought was a civilian, then preceded to shot himself in his own head, and was dead before I knew it. I only stood there, wondering what would happen to me next._

'_A woman came running out of a building. She looked like she was in distress and ran to the man who I had thought a civilian. She began to cry. _

'_Had either of us known that the murderer had a gang, we would have left the scene immediately. But when the gunshot was heard, I knew that the woman was running back to her house. She was not gunned down, but another scream of pain came from some other building. The shot had found a target. I began to run._

'_Hard, cold hands grabbed me. I looked up into the face of a stranger, holding my arms. I twisted. He didn't let go. It was one of them gang members. He had a hard, cruel face and rough features, and he was strong. I managed to grab the blade out of my pocket and poked him with it, then cut his leg slightly. When he let go, I ran faster than I ever had before._

'_I heard cursing and sirens. I heard people running past me, people screaming, I also heard the traffic of the always busy city. But I just ran until I made it home, and was inside before I could do anything else._

'_My father looked up from the table when I ran it, but he didn't ask what had happened. He never seemed to care that I was seeing things that I shouldn't have ever seen. He just couldn't care less. That was the last night I had trouble. Two days later, we moved here, to Tulsa. But that was the worst and the last murder I ever encountered." _Dally finished, breathing in.

"So, that's the worst?" asked Pony.

"Yeah, that's the worst, an' that's the last time I ever seen something that bad." replied Dally. He looked at Johnny, who was slightly pale, but when he looked back, Dally could see that he wasn't too disturbed.

By this time, Dally had finished his cigarette and threw it on the ground. He was still in a kind of depressed mood. They decided to leave. It was getting dark.

"So, Dally, you goin' somewhere tomorrow night?" asked Pony.

"I dunno, why?" replied Dally.

"'Cause there's a movie at the Nightly Double an' I thought we could go."

"Maybe. I think Tim wants me around. I'll have to ask him if he really does, though, I feel like he's gonna have a party." said Dally. Pony only nodded.

When they reached the street corner, where Johnny's house was, there was only the sound of screaming heard from the inner depths of it. Johnny sighed, and Dally put his arm around him.

"You gonna sleep at my house tonight, Johnny?" asked Pony.

"Yeah, I guess so." was Johnny's reply. "I hate it when they fight, man, I hate it."

"They ain't gonna do nothing to you, Johnny. Now come on, let's go." said Dally, glaring at the house.

They walked on down the street. Dally was going to go home, and he stopped in front of Pony's house.

"You ask an' tell us tomorrow what your answer is on coming to the movie." Pony said suddenly.

"Yeah, alright. I'm off." answered Dally, absent-mindedly.

He made his way down the street and was really only still thinking about New York. Maybe someday he'd go back there, and get out of this land that wasn't any better than that city. Maybe the city had improved and changed. He didn't know, he only had the worst possible memories and wanted to make new ones, better ones, out of NYC. Maybe he could. After all, he was in a New York state of mind.

Author's Note: And that, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is the ending! Thank you very much for reading, and I beg you to please review, review review!


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